


The Subtle Art of Naming Dogs

by lizznotliz



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 02:43:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21402865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizznotliz/pseuds/lizznotliz
Summary: First there's Johann. Then Troth and Eloise and Henry. Angus learns how Magnus picks names for his dogs, and wonders whether they've forgotten someone.
Relationships: Julia Burnsides/Magnus Burnsides, Magnus Burnsides & Angus McDonald
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	The Subtle Art of Naming Dogs

Magnus names his first dog Johann.

The second is named Troth, for a monk who inspired him on one of the planes. Angus remembers her from the Story, the world with the robots, and Magnus nods and tells him about how she came through the bond engine to help them defeat the Hunger that day.

The third dog is named Eloise, after a baker who lived in Raven's Roost. Her shop was just across the bridge and Magnus loved her sweet rolls so much that he would wake up extra early to go get them for breakfast before opening the shop three days a week. Magnus swears up and down that the sweet rolls were even better than Taako's, but he makes Angus promise to never, ever tell Taako that.

The fourth dog is named Henry, who was another craftsman in the Corridor at Raven's Roost. He helped lead the rebellion, Magnus said, and he was deaf in one ear. Henry used to sit on Magnus' left at all of their rebellion meetings so he wouldn't miss anything, but sometimes Julia would still write down the most important information for him. He was a good man, Magnus said, as he tugged a collar down around the dog Henry's neck.

Angus listens and watches and asks questions because he likes the stories, and he likes the way Magnus smiles when he tells them. With his memories back, the rougher edges of Magnus have been sanded down; he hasn't changed shape, he's just a little smoother, nicer. He remembers how wonderful and terrible all those years were, he remembers the love of his family, he remembers all the growing up he did, and sometimes he looks at Angus like he can still hear the Judges right before they turned him to stone.

_\--so much cruelty towards a child who loves them--_

Magnus names the fifth dog Grandfather.

"That's a funny name," Angus says, writing the name very clearly on the tag. Magnus says his handwriting is better, so it’s always his job to write on the tags.

"Well, we've been naming them after people we loved and lost, right?" Magnus says, scratching the new dog behind its ears. It's a bloodhound, a little older than most of the other dogs they've trained, but calm in a way that Angus finds really nice. "You said you didn't remember your grandpa's name."

And Angus stops writing because he hadn't put two and two together quite yet; even the World's Greatest Detective can get surprised every once in a while. He thinks about old leatherbound books and polished silverware and heavy drapes on the windows and for a moment he misses his grandfather in a sharp, painful way. But then he looks around at Magnus' house - _their_ house - with the wood shavings swept into the corner, the mismatched cutlery and chipped plates, the wide open windows with the sun pouring in, and Angus doesn't necessarily think this is better, but it's _right_. He's where he's supposed to be.

"Hello, Grandfather," he says quietly, kneeling on the ground and attaching the little nametag to the new dog's collar.

Troth and Eloise and Henry have all found new homes, people nearby who needed a companion. Angus gets letters sometimes from the dogs' new owners who express their gratitude and want to make sure Magnus knows how much his work is appreciated. Angus reads the letters at the kitchen table while Grandfather sleeps on his feet; Johann is circling Magnus in the kitchen, trying to beg for scraps while he cooks.

"Got a lead on a pup, Ango. Gonna go check it out in the morning."

"Do you have a name picked out yet?" Magnus hums a little, like he's not sure, and Angus finds his opening, prying where he's not sure he's wanted but unable to hold back anymore. "Magnus, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

"How come you - _we_ -" because he knows Magnus likes it when he includes himself in the dog work, "how come we've never named a dog after Julia?"

Magnus goes stiff for a moment, then sets his knife down on the counter. He doesn't look at Angus, which isn't great, but he doesn't leave the room either, which is better. It gets easier, Angus thinks, a little bit at a time, every time Magnus brings her up. It was accidental mentions at first, just enough for Angus to start putting together the story. Then one night during a storm, when neither of them could sleep, they sat on the couch watching Steven swim in circles and Magnus told him everything.

Julia was sunshine and steel, wildflowers and the heat of a blacksmith's anvil. She grew roses and loved the color red, and she could beat Magnus in an arm-wrestling match at least half the time. Neither of them were good at cooking, he told Angus, but they liked doing it together because they enjoyed laughing at the poor attempts they made. _She had calluses on her hands that matched mine,_ Magnus said, and held out his hands, palm up, so Angus could see how they fit together.

(_She wanted kids,_ Magnus had whispered, later that same night when he thought Angus had fallen asleep. She wasn't picky about whether they were biological or adopted, she just wanted them. The kids in Raven's Roost knew that Miss Julia was always good for a hug and a flower, and Magnus remembers how she made him promise to bring that rocking chair back from the showcase so they could use it themselves one day. _If she were here,_ Magnus whispered, _she would love you, too._ And Angus fell a little in love with her, too, this woman he would never meet but who was so present in their house, in the red curtains and the roses in the yard and the rocking chair in the living room.)

"I'm sorry," Angus says, when Magnus has been quiet for nearly a whole minute. "I shouldn't have asked."

"You can always ask about Julia," Magnus says, which is new, because Angus has never asked. He's always just waited, knowing that the information would come spilling out of Magnus whenever he was too full of love: on nights when he couldn't sleep, or after family reunions, or when the roses bloomed, or they burned dinner again and had to ask Taako to come fix them something edible. "You can ask," Magnus repeats, because Angus looks skeptical, and he smiles gently. "I'm always going to miss her, Ango, but she's still sort of here. I don't... I think that's why I haven't named a dog after her. I'm not saying we don't still have memories of Johann or your grandfather, or my old friends from Raven's Roost. But it's different, for me, with Julia. She's still here; I've been trying to _keep_ her here. Maybe I'm not explaining this right."

And Angus shrugs, because he doesn't totally get it, but he doesn't think he really has to. It's clear that Magnus has given this thought and whatever criteria he needs to name a dog after someone, Julia doesn't fit the bill. Maybe she's too big and the dogs are too small; maybe he can't bear to say the name, over and over, and not have her peek her head out of the bedroom in answer.

(Maybe, when he sleeps, he dreams about another house, one that has Magnus and Angus and Julia all in it together, and that dream is too far away in the waking hours to sully it with a replacement.)

Whatever the case, Angus says, "Can I pick the next name?"

The sixth dog is named Marlena, after Barry's mother, because Angus doesn't remember his own mother's name and they get the dog on Barry's birthday. Barry gets a little teary-eyed when Angus tells him and, after he walks away, Magnus picks Angus up in a big bear hug and tells him he's a good boy.

**Author's Note:**

> (Griffin said Magnus was greeted in the Astral Plane by Johann and an unnamed bloodhound; my headcanon has always been that the bloodhound was Angus' dog. Hence: Grandfather.)


End file.
